Rain for a Dusty Summer

1971 film

G.B. Buscemi
Julius Evans

Based onstory by Leo Brady
Franklin LaceyProduced byG.B. BuscemiStarring

Humberto Almazán
Ernest Borgnine

CinematographyManuel BerenguerMusic byWade Denning

Release date

1971 (1971)

Running time

93 minsCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Rain for a Dusty Summer, originally known as Miguel Pro and released on DVD as Guns of the Revolution, is a 1971 Mexican revolution film.^[1]^[2] Shot on location in Spain,^[3] it depicts the life and death of Mexican priest Miguel Pro during the Cristero War. The lead role was played by Humberto Almazán, an actor who left the industry to become a priest and returned to acting for this film. The movie was the final feature film of director Arthur Lubin.

Plot

In 1917 Mexico, the new government has commenced a war against the Church. Priests are rounded up and executed, churches burned down and religion outlawed. A carefree happy priest has to go on the run but returns to his nation to perform his priestly duties.

Cast

Humberto Almazán as Miguel Pro (as Padre Humberto)
Ernest Borgnine as The General
Sancho Gracia as Humberto Pro
Aldo Sambrell as Col. Marinos
Harry Harris as Joe Weiler
Nela Conjiu as Señora Pro
Carlos Casaravilla as Capt. Larrea
Vicente Sangiovanni as Luis Vilches
Maida Severn as Señora Altera
Gemma Cuervo as Loreto
Marta Flores as Margarita
Tina Sáinz as Ana Pro
Asunción Vitoria as Nita
Florencio Calpe as the Rector
Martín Porras as Roberto Pro
Gustavo Re as a Prison Official
Moisés Augusto Rocha as a Witness
Ángel Álvarez as The Bishop

Reception

Diabolique magazine later wrote "this is sometimes called a spaghetti Western, but it isn’t really… It’s more a priest-on-the-run story, where a guitar-playing man of the cloth tries to escape army prosecution during the 1917 Mexican Revolution. This film’s a hard slog, badly dubbed and veers wildly in tone (one minute the priest is in drag, the next he’s being executed by firing squad). It’s very pro-Catholic, as if Lubin was trying to make amends to the Legion of Decency for To the People of the United States by making a bad Leo McCarey movie."^[4]

References

^ Rain for a Dusty Summer at TCMDB
^ Martin, Betty (November 8, 1969). "Borgnine Signs for 'Miguel Pro' Role". Los Angeles Times. p. a7.
^ Hendrick, Kimmis (March 30, 1970). "'Rain' in Spain: cheaper, more Mexican: Spain's Hollywood". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 10.
^ Vagg, Stephen (September 14, 2019). "The Cinema of Arthur Lubin". Diabolique Magazine.